


Story Thieves

by JustARandomIdiot



Series: DEH Story Thieves [1]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson, Story Thieves Series - James Riley
Genre: also there's references to other actual books, because I say so, but they won't adventure in them just have brief moments, i just needed more characters for this au and didn't feel like making ocs, if not then this'll be a fun read, if you've read it you'll know what's most likely going to happen, no ships in this one btw, oh yeah bmc characters aren't really major characters in this, okay so like this is based off of Story Thieves by James Riley, the ships will happen in later stories
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-01-30 03:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12645066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustARandomIdiot/pseuds/JustARandomIdiot
Summary: Social anxiety makes it hard for Evan to really connect with others, so instead, he escapes into other worlds through books and stories. However, things become a little more interesting when he finds Zoe Murphy climbing out of the pages of a Harry Potter book. Au inspired by James Riley's series Story Thieves. BEING REWRITTEN





	1. Just Another Day

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is an idea I've been playing around with in my head for a while, based on the book series Story Thieves by James Riley. Really awesome series that I would 111% recommend to anyone! I won't follow the stories completely, but there are many things that I used for this. If you've ever read the books, you'll know.

Evan fidgeted with the pencil in his hand, waiting for Pre-Calculus to end so that he could finally get out of school. The teacher was talking about… something. He wasn’t sure what, something about sine and cosine and triangles or whatever. He couldn't understand anything the teacher was saying, so why bother listening?

His mind wandered off the way it usually did when he wanted to be at peace, especially at school. Thoughts flew in and out of his head, ranging from the movie he saw with his mother over the weekend, to the college essay he needed to finish. When the library popped into his mind, he soon found himself thinking about his favorite book series, _J. K. Bowling_ , and how the final book would be coming out in two short weeks.

As stupid and childish as the title sounded, it was honestly, in Evan's opinion, the next best books alongside _Harry Potter_ and _Percy Jackson_. He could read about Jared's adventures all day. His thoughts shifted from what could possibly happen in the next book to joining Jared and Michael on their quest to Dewe's Mountain, maybe even with his own magic powers! His would definitely involve plants, probably trees or-

“Evan.”

Evan startled in his seat as he realized the teacher had called on him. “Uh, erm…” He stuttered nervously, no coherent thought in his mind.

The teacher sighed. “I was asking if you know why to use the Law of Cosine to solve for this triangle.”

Evan stared hard at the board, but he couldn't make sense of what was in front of him with all the pressure on him to answer. He could feel the stares of his classmates, eagerly awaiting for him to say something, or answer correctly so that the teacher wouldn't call on them. He gripped the pencil he held tightly, feeling his breath quickening. No, he couldn't answer this, he couldn't think straight. Feeling tears in his eyes, he shook his head silently.

He could feel how disappointed the teacher was in him as she called on someone else. His face turned red, and he sunk into his chair, praying for the end of the day to arrive sooner.

After forever- at least, that's how it felt- the bell finally rang, signaling the end of school. Evan slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed out the doors of the classroom, thankful to be free. He started on his way to the front of the school, until he remembered he left his AP Physics book in his locker, prompting him to turn around and march back into the sea of students, a feat not easy to accomplish. Making his way through, trying to avoid eye contact with his peers, he didn't notice her until they ran into each other, quite literally.

Both of them fell to the floor, paper flying everywhere. “O-oh my God, I'm so sow-sorry,” he quickly apologized, tripping over his words. He gathered his papers as quick as he could, the other students not bothering to help and instead walking around them. As he clutched all his papers to his chest, the girl he knocked over just nabbed a book that was covered by the mess moments ago. With a small glimpse, Evan could make out _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_ on the cover.

“I'm, uh, s-sorry again, er…” He stared at the floor as they both brought themselves to their feet, noticing the stars on the cuffs of her jeans. Wasn't she the girl from jazz band? “Uh… Zoe? Yeah, sorry, Zoe.”

She just looked at him, her gray-brown eyes wide with… Evan wasn't too sure if it was fear, but her eyes widened before she shoved passed him. Had he done something wrong? Probably. What _didn't_ he do wrong?

He quietly made his way to his locker, holding tighter his papers. He packed his needed textbook, organized the work he held in his hands, then made his way back to the front, the hallway now void of students. Staring at his feet, he spied a book laying on the floor. He bent down to pick it up.

_Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_.

Wait, this was the book Zoe had when they bumped into each other. Had she dropped it again on her way out without realizing it? By his thumb, he noticed the bar code next to it, with the library's name above it.

It was the name of the library that his mother worked at. Maybe he could return it, since he was about to go there anyway…

No. He didn't know if Zoe was finished with it yet, and it'd be pretty rude to return it without her permission. He could probably return it to her the next day during school. Hoping his hands weren't too sweaty when he would do it.

The ten-minute walk to the library was quiet and uneventful, which was good; it gave Evan's mind some time to relax. He walked in, placing his stuff from school behind the desk of the children's section and sat down.

“Hi, honey!” his mother greeted him quietly, coming out from the back with a cart of books to be shelved. She walked over to him, placing a kiss on his forehead, before continuing on to organize the books she brought on the cart.

The next couple hours, Evan alternated between doing his homework and helping children find certain books they wanted. For some reason, he felt more comfortable talking with younger kids. Not hold-a-full-conversation comfortable, but it was definitely easier. Not to mention how well he knew the library, it made it easier to assist them. He didn't work at the library, but his mother convinced the owner to allow him to volunteer after school and on Saturdays, allowing him to learn just about everything there was about the library. If strangers didn't make him ridiculously uncomfortable, he could see himself running his own library in the future.

“All right, Ev, I'm going home now.” His mother hugged him from behind as he worked his AP Chemistry notes. “Wanna come with?”

“No, I think I'll stay here a bit more,” he replied with a smile. The library was like a second home to him, and the books his best friends, family even. Because what was better than reading a good book in a peaceful place like a library, where nothing happened?

His mom laughed. “Okay then, just be home before 7:30.” She kissed once again before leaving.

Hardly anyone remained in the library at this time, as many had already gone home. Those who stayed were few adults or teens, off in their sections of the library, leaving Evan by himself in the children’s section. Not that he minded, he preferred it like this. About ten minutes later, he finished his notes.

He checked the time. 6:18. That was still plenty of time to finish rereading the latest _J.K. Bowling_ book before he had to leave. He bent down to put all his work in his backpack, then spotted the _Harry Potter_ book he had brought laying next to his bag.

Oh. He’d forgotten about it. Oops. 

He sighed, picking it up, before dropping it on the floor again. Did… did it just jump in his hand?

No, of course not! Books don’t jump, he was probably just being nervous again. He knelt down to take it up in his hands, when it hopped a few inches in the air. Okay, that definitely wasn’t normal.

Before he could react, it opened up, a hand, _an actual human hand_ , emerging from its pages. It gripped onto the floor, then another appeared. Now frightened, Evan scooted back as quickly as possible, hitting his head on the desk. He began breathing heavy. Was he going crazy?! Was this just a dream?! He pinched himself to be sure, and it hurt. Not a dream.

Following the hands, arms pulled themselves out as well, then some brown hair became visible. Soon, a forehead, gray-brown eyes, a slightly freckled nose, a mouth, until the person’s entire head was sticking out from the book. Evan's face paled as he recognized who it was.

Coming out from the pages of _Harry Potter_ was Zoe Murphy.


	2. Immersed In the Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Zoe takes Evan into books and he freaks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't as long as the first one, but I hope it's still okay.

After an afternoon in Hogsmeade, Zoe could say she was feeling a whole lot better now. Sure, it was risky and violated her number one rule when jumping into stories, but after getting in trouble with three teachers, it was very much needed. Filled with magical candies and butterbeer, she made it to the outskirts of the small town where no one would see her and pulled herself out of the story, a little slower than she should've. Climbing out, the first thing she realized was that she was no longer in the school halls. Someone probably put the book somewhere off the floor, like the lost and found.

Nope.

She was at the local library. And the kid from earlier was watching her climb out, his eyes wide, mouth open, and face very pale. (What was his name? Evan, right?)

She rushed out as she saw him. This was bad. This was very,  _ very  _ bad. “I, uh…” She racked her brain for something,  _ anything _ , to use as an excuse as to what he just saw.

“You… you-you just…” His voice was soft and shaky as he pointed to her, then the book.

Zoe forced out a laugh. “What are you implying?” she asked, hoping it sounded convincing.

He looked up at her, then back down, incoherent noises coming out of him. She followed her gaze and held back the urge to facepalm.

Part of her foot was still in the story.

She pulled it out and kicked the book away, muttering a few swears. She turned back to him, using all her energy into hiding her fear. “Look,” she said, her voice low and her tone serious, “You  _ won't  _ tell anyone what you saw, you won't ever talk to me again, you'll forget this ever happened, and you'll definitely forget who I am, got that?!”

He slowly nodded, then bolted up, ready to run away. “Oh no, you don't.” She grabbed his arm, grabbed the first book she could get her hand on, and shoved both of them in. 

They tumbled onto the ground, both of them bumping into a large tree. “W-where are we?!?” Evan cried looking around at their forest-like surroundings.

Zoe looked around as well, searching for clues as to what book she jumped them in. She found one as she looked to the sky, flying snakes forming words above them. “ _ Guardians of Ga’Hoole _ ,” she answered, pointing to the snakes. “See the flying snakes? They're teaching Nyroc, who'll call himself Coryn later, how to read.”

Evan turned to her, disbelief written all over her face. “You mean- y-you mean the books about the owl warriors??”

She sighed, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “Yes, the books about the 'owl warriors’,” she answered. He was going to be difficult to convince, wasn't he?

She jumped them both out, grabbed another book, and jumped in, still holding Evan tightly. This time, they were in a fancy dining room, the decor around them screaming 1920s or somewhere around that time period. On the giant table in the center, eight porcelain Indians stood in a circle. Two more looked shattered.

“W-w-what???” Evan squeaked, his voice higher and softer than before. “But we- we were- we were j-just-”

“I jumped us into another book, okay?!” She shouldn't have been annoyed, as this was his first time jumping into books, but she couldn't help it. Mostly because she wasn't used to bringing anyone else with her whenever she went into the stories. She took a deep breath, then continued. “From the looks of it, we're in Agatha Christie's  _ And Then There Were None _ . I'm gonna jump us out soon, since if the other characters see us, they will definitely think that we're Mr. Owen if they see us, but you  _ have  _ to promise not to freak out when we leave, got it?”

He hesitated before slowly nodding, gulping nervously. Zoe took his hand and jumped them both out, back into the library.

Evan looked around, as if he still believed he was in a book, before pinching himself, wincing. “H-how…” he began, seeming unsure how to phrase his question.

“Don’t know how it works, but I just can, okay?” She pursed her lips a bit, hoping he wouldn't ask too much as to how and why she can jump into the stories. Honestly, the less he knew, the better it would be for her; things already went wrong when he caught her climbing out of “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” “I'll just… show you one more time, I guess, so stop asking questions.”

She picked up  _ And Then There Were None  _ and placed her hand onto the pages, concentrating a bit. A melting feeling formed in her hand, though it didn't hurt; it never did. Her fingers first dissolved into the pages, then her hand, becoming words like “finger” or “thumb” or knuckle” or “palm.”

She looked up at Evan with a humored smile as he stared wide-eyed, watching her stick her entire arm up to her shoulder into the book. She almost laughed, until he fell back and fainted. She groaned.

“After bringing you to Ga’Hoole and a deserted mansion on an island in the middle of nowhere, you faint watching me do  _ this _ ???”


	3. Just a Dream?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Evan has no idea if what he just experienced was real.

Evan stirred in his sleep, waking up from what was one of the craziest dreams he ever had. That girl, Zoe Murphy, came out of her  _ Harry Potter  _ book, then took him to a forest and a mansion, before sticking her arm up a book. After that, it was jumbled, filled with wizard owls killing Indian men or something. Dreams sure are weird.

He pulled himself up, expecting to be in his bed to get ready for school again, but no, he was on the library floor. Huh. He must've fallen asleep while working. Doing math  _ did  _ drain him, so maybe he was just exhausted from his homework.

He glanced at the clock. 7:21. He'd be a little late getting home, but it was fine, since his mom was used to it. Hopefully, she'd think he was reading like usual, instead of sleeping.

The next day, he couldn't stop thinking of his dream, the first part, at least. It all seemed… so real. What would  _ he _ do if he could travel to all those different stories, like Dream Zoe could? Probably go to Hogwarts and see if the Pottermore quiz was right about him being a Hufflepuff. Or maybe go into any of his childhood favorites just for the sake of nostalgia. With the vast amount of books in the world, there were endless possibilities! Man, if only it wasn’t a dream.

He noticed as he went through the day, he didn’t see Zoe at all. Sure, she was a grade below him, but he always saw her in the hallway between classes. Maybe he was just being paranoid. But what if something happened to her? Like, what if it wasn’t a dream, and she was now stuck in a book???

He shook his head, trying to get rid of those thoughts. That was stupid. Just because one student didn’t show up to school for one day doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. Besides, it was kind of creepy to think about the fact he notices her everyday. Oh God, did she know??? Was he a creep to her??? But he always made mental notes of the people around him, no matter their age, gender, or grade. Still, it sounded stalker-like, which didn’t make him feel any better.

The school day seemed to drag on longer than other days. Maybe because after that crazy dream, life seemed a little… boring, like there was more to it than just useless lessons he’ll never remember in one year. It was weird for him to think about, but he did always want more in life. Maybe, maybe the dream was some sort of sign, that he could do more than just wave from the outside to everyone who passed by.

He sighed quietly. No, that was stupid, things like that only happened in stories. This was real life.

The day continued on as usual, nothing out of the ordinary, until the library, where Zoe was waiting outside the door. Evan began fidgeting with the end of his polo, feeling his palms sweat. He looked to the ground, avoiding eye contact and hoping to remain unseen as he made his way to the entrance. Maybe she wouldn’t see him, maybe she wasn’t there to talk to him, or do anything with him.

“Evan.”

He halted right as his hand was placed on the doorhandle. Oh God, she wanted to actually  _ talk _ to him. Was she going to yell at him, tell him off for something??? With a deep, shaky breath, he turned around to face her.

She walked up to him at a distance to close for comfort, the expression on her face unreadable. “What you saw yesterday didn’t happen, okay?” she said, her voice almost at a whisper as if she were afraid someone might overhear. “You saw  _ nothing _ , zilch, zip, nada.”

Evan gulped. “It… it wa-wasn’t a dream?” he whispered back, a little nervous to break the silence around them.

Her eyes widened as she turned around, her back facing him. “Shit,” she said softly, before facing him once more. “Okay, look.” The tone of her voice became a bit more serious this time. “Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you, just name it: an everlasting gobstopper, a Pygmy puff, gold,  _ anything _ , just as long as you promise to keep your mouth shut about me forever.”

“I-I don’t- I don’t want-” Wait. “You’ll… you’ll get me anything?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, as long as it’s reasonable, so don’t ask for Harry’s invisibility cloak or something important to a story’s plot.” She was beginning to sound impatient, fear rising in her soft voice.

Evan pursed his lips, a thought in his mind. There was  _ one _ thing he did want, and it technically  _ was _ in a book, but… no, it was stupid, she wouldn’t agree. Then again, she did say  _ anything _ , just so he wouldn’t say something about her jumping into books. Besides, he might not ever get a chance like this ever again, considering Zoe wanted nothing to do with him after today, so he  _ had _ to ask, before this chance left.

“Well, there is  _ one _ thing I’d like…”

“Name it!!! I’ll get it for you!!!”

Deep breath. “Iwantyoutotakemeintoabook.”

Silence. “...what?”

“You said- you said anything I want, a-as long as it didn’t interfere with the plot of a book, right? Well, we-we just stay at the side to watch the events, o-or something. A-and there’s, uh, a certain boo-”

She shook her head, backing away from him. “No,” she stated. “Nononono, this is stupid, I can’t- no, this goes against everything I promised myself, I can’t do this again, I can’t, I-”

“It’ll get me to shut up,” Evan blurted out.

She looked back up at him, fear and worry clouding her eyes. “ _ No!!! I’m not bringing another person with me into another story!!!! _ ” Right after yelling that, she gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such slow updates school sucks.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update at a normal schedule, possibly every week or every other week, but school might make it harder to update frequently, so yeah.


End file.
